Community heroes honoured by St John

They have all displayed bravery in horrifying circumstances – the aftermath of shark bites, heart attacks, choking, drowning, seizures, amputation and a boat accident.

And today, these "community heroes" were recognised by St John Ambulance for their actions and for displaying “enormous courage and exceptional judgment in assisting another human being”.

Governor Kerry Sanderson presented the awards at Government House to groups and individuals considered to have delivered exceptional first aid under extreme duress.

Among the recipients was the group of strangers who rescued Esperance shark attack victim, Sean Pollard. Ross Tamlin, a fellow surfer, heard Mr Pollard’s screams and paddled in to call emergency services and warn others, while Dean Gaebler and Peter Rothnie waded out into the water to help pull him to safety.

Back on the beach, Kylie Rothnie, Peter’s wife and a recently trained volunteer ambulance officer, gave Mr Pollard first aid and helped to stabilise him. Mr Pollard lost his right hand and his left arm above the elbow in the attack but was released from hospital last month and is recovering.

Also awarded was another volunteer ambulance officer, Conrad Lowe, who responded when diver Greg Pickering was attacked by a great white shark almost a year earlier, also off the coast near Esperance.

He met the car carrying Mr Pickering, who suffered extensive facial and shoulder injuries, cleaned his wounds and helped to treat and comfort him, as well as transport him safety to safety.

Public Transport Authority officers Challis Bick, Mark Jennings and Piers McCarney were based on duty when they received the horrific call that a teenage girl had been hit by a train at McIver. They rushed to the scene and found the distressed girl with both feet severed.

Mr McCarney applied bandages and safety vests to cover her wounds, comforted and reassured her, and talked to her to keep her awake. After she was taken away, Ms Bick found a severed foot under the stationary train and was able to climb underneath and retrieve it, to give to ambulance officers to take to the hospital.

Russell Dymock and Tracey McLaren (left) and Melissa Yule (right) helped revive two young boys on the beach. Picture: Michael Wilson/The West Australian

Help was a long way away when Abel Manning crashed his boat on the way to drop off supplies to Wilderness Island, off Exmouth.

Island residents Jim Alston and Kim Chi Nguyen were awarded for spending 11 hours looking after Mr Manning, who suffered two brain haemorrhages, a shattered jaw, broken clavicle and numerous cuts.

Mr Alston dragged him from the water and drove him to the accommodation area on the back of a quad bike, where Ms Chi Nguyen helped tend to him until he could be flown out by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Other life-saving gestures occurred in more mundane circumstances.

Rearhn Centis and Aidan Sadler, both seven-years-old, were playing computer games while Rearhn’s mum Natasha made them lunch.

She began to choke on a piece of chicken and, unable to cough it up or swallow it, she ran into the lounge and made noise to get the boys’ attention. There were no other adults around so both hit her on the back until the chicken became dislodged.

Sebastian Palermo, nine, was at home alone with his father when his dad had a severe epileptic seizure.

Sebastian called triple zero and was able to follow instructions to keep his father out of harm’s way, by helping him to lie on the floor and keeping his head away from heavy objects, until the ambulance arrived.

Matthew Doherty was at work at Coles in Mirrabooka Square when customer Anna Hunt collapsed, suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

He had recently finished a first aid course and with the help of another customer, was able to give her CPR for eight minutes until paramedics arrived.

Mr Doherty then used Ms Hunt’s mobile phone to call her son to tell him what had happened.

Ms Hunt, who was 51 and in good health before the heart attack, was in an induced coma for a number of days but has since made a remarkable recovery.

WA Governor Kerry Sanderson presented the awards. Picture: Ben Crabtree/The West Australian

Derek Jobe was also fit and healthy and had just enjoyed a regular afternoon of hockey practice when he suffered a heart attack while driving out of Perth Hockey Stadium.

Luckily, Tammy Cowan was also leaving with her son Sasha Thomas and noticed the car crashed against the kerb, with Mr Jobe slumped over the wheel.

They pulled him out of the car and Ms Cowan started CPR while Sasha called triple zero.

The stadium had a defibrillator and employee Hope Munro was able to administer a shock to Mr Jobe, which was enough to ensure he had a pulse before paramedics arrived.

Mr Jobe had surgery and has made a good recovery. Ms Cowan, Sasha and Ms Munro all received awards for their efforts.

Terri Hollows and Jade Ashurst were also recognised for performing CPR for 17 minutes on a man who collapsed after a heart attack while playing indoor cricket in Joondalup.

Ms Hollows had been working at the sports centre and Ms Ashurst had been playing netball nearby. The man suffered slight neurological damage but is otherwise recovering well.

Gary Kerman had recently completed a first aid refresher course when he found himself resuscitating 62-year-old Neville Jones in a café in Victoria Park.

Mr Jones, there with his cycling group, collapsed after a heart attack and Mr Kerman performed CPR for ten minutes while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Mr Jones had a triple bypass and is recovering.

Jamie and Vincent Callegari were waiting for their beloved grandfather’s funeral to start when they heard a woman screaming for help.

They ran towards the screams and found the woman, whose 82-year-old husband was slumped over in his car, unconscious and not breathing.

They did CPR before staff from the shopping centre were able to give the man, Robert Rowe, a shock.

He was awake by the time paramedics arrived and has since made a full recovery, but would likely have died if not for the immediate first aid.

Challis Bick, along with fellow transit guards Mark Jennings and Piers McCarney, helped a woman found injured on train tracks. Picture: Dione Davidson/The West Australian

For Russell Dymock, Tracey McLaren and Melissa Yule, an afternoon at the beach became a fight for two young lives.

Mr Dymock saw a woman come out of the water holding an unconscious four-year-old boy and immediately started CPR when he realised the child wasn’t breathing.

When the woman went back into the water and came out with the boy’s six-year-old brother, who was also unconscious and not breathing, Ms McLaren and Ms Yule rushed in and also began CPR.

Both boys, who had slipped into a deep, unseen channel, started to breathe again and woke up before paramedics arrived. Both have made a full recovery.

St John chief executive Terry Ahern said all those awarded had put the needs of others first and deserved to be applauded.

“Particularly pleasing this year is the spread of ages among the winners. We have two seven year olds, a nine year old, a teenager and adults, which highlights the fact that anyone can learn and deliver life-saving first aid,” he said.

“We are also extremely encouraged by the increase in numbers of people saved by CPR on previous years, which underscores our commitment to making first aid a part of everyone’s life and building resilient communities.”